Besiktas Istanbul 3: Dynamo Kyiv 1
Dynamo Kyiv failed to stage a successful comeback to the UEFA Cup, a tournament they have been out of in the past six years, vying for the Champions Cup, Europe’s chief trophy. It must be too early to draw conclusions on the heels of the defeat in the first 1/16 final leg. Yet, the tendencies that came up last Wednesday on Istanbul’s Inunu Stadium had been evident even more than a month ago. Unfortunately, neither the coaches nor the Dynamo players heeded the almost unanimous alarm of the press and fans over how Dynamo has been playing lately. We never heard at least one frank or self-critical word from coach Mykhailychenko who says, instead, that Dynamo has no serious problems.
Looking at the Istanbul packed grandstands, where the audience began to chant, sing, and otherwise try to create inimitable vibrations over the pitch one and a half hours before the kick-off, I recalled with shame the well-oiled plastic-pipe-blowing crowds that gather a couple of times a year at our country’s central stadium to munch peanuts and curse. If I had been a five-year-old boy brought for the first time to watch soccer precisely in Istanbul last Thursday, I would have become a lifelong fan of Besiktas. But many Ukrainians can change nothing: they lost their hearts to Dynamo Kyiv whose Turkish match dealt another painful blow to their supporters.
The raging grandstands somewhat frightened our players who missed the ball every other time and took pot shots at the audience. Then the Kyiv side began to play better, sending every other pass to... a Turkish player. Still, luck kept Reva’s goal safe for a solid half-hour. Then Dynamo scored an ill-starred goal — in the literal and figurative meaning. Belkevich whipped in a free-kick, which was flicked on by Melashchenko for Diogo Rincon to stretch out a leg and score the opener. The joy lasted less than a minute. The very first Turkish attack after the conceded goal resulted in an equalizing shot by Pancu. Then everything was as usual: the hosts managed to make full use of two out of the half-dozen goal-fraught situations, with Nouma, already written off by French clubs, displaying a brilliant tour-de-force. The host players tried on every occasion to nudge the ball between the guests’ feet, sending the home supporters wild. This ridicule climaxed in the third goal pushed by Nouma past our goalkeeper.
What about our side? Nothing. There was not a single really dangerous moment, inaccurate passes, and, still worse, endless bickering. This especially applies to Belkevich who would burst into a voluble comment after every slip-up of his partners instead of trying to rob the rival of the ball.
There is more than one way to lose a game. Dynamo supporters have so often noted that the squad is unable to play after a goal it has just scored and, if it concedes one, turns from a well-playing and tactically wise team into a group of tough athletes fed up with it all. Of course, one can sometimes make a mistake in defense or concede an easy goal, but our boys don’t even try to muster their strength, desire, and skill to reverse the course of the game. Practically all today’s coaches occasionally approach the pitch to say something to their team. It is no secret that our man sometimes really needs a harsh word. Conversely, our coaches seem to be enchanted or paralyzed when their team is obviously falling apart. It is especially annoying that Mykhailychenko never admits, at least publicly, his mistakes and continues to behave as if Dynamo has not slipped to the shameful fourth place in the domestic championship and has not lost to Turkey’s third-ranking team.
I would like to believe to the last minute that the only representative of Ukraine on the European arena will manage to offset the Istanbul humiliation in a home match on December 12. But do the Dynamo players themselves believe in this? Are they able to win at least once a year when it is necessary, not just when the going is good? Or are we to hear again some awkward explanations of a new flop?
And the last thing: after the Istanbul game, only three Dynamo players chose to turn their eyes to the grandstand sector with a group of Ukrainian fans and thank the latter for support. But even they did it too hurriedly. Then why are we so surprised to see empty grandstands here and exploding volcanoes of stadiums there?
